THEY know how to milk a good idea at the most enterprising school in Wales.

THEY know how to milk a good idea at the most enterprising school in Wales.

And the innovative youngsters can never be accused of following the herd.

That's because pupils at Ysgol Tregib have just picked up yet another award for their latest enterprising concept - advertising on cows.

The 14-year-old entrepreneurs at the Llandeilo school are offering local businesses the chance to have their name emblazoned across cows at a nearby farm and have made specially designed cow coats to carry the "cow-mercials".

A clothing firm which supplies school uniforms is one of the first companies to sign up.

The idea has earned the team, Menter Mw, two prizes at the recent Celtic Enterprises award, as well as the overall prize.

Their success has led to them being described as the "most enterprising school in Britain" by Gordon Brown.

They picked up that particular accolade when Year 12 pupils visited the Chancellor at Number 11 Downing Street two years ago after winning the UK Young Enterprise competition and proved him right the following year when the next team were named runners up.

Business and enterprise teacher Tim Williams - who has himself been shortlisted for this year's Teacher Awards - explained that other schools might opt for making and selling fluffy pencil cases or scented candles at the annual enterprise competitions, but at Tregib they like to go that bit further.

The bovine publicity idea emerged during a brainstorming session after one of the five pupils said they had seen a sheep dyed purple on television.

"It started off as a joke, but we thought we could do it and innovation is the key," said Mr Williams.

"Anyone can make calendars and sell pencils, but to be really successful you have to be innovative. And they certainly came up trumps."

One of the five pupils lived on a farm, so he used his own cow, Peggy, to take measurements for a prototype, and the farm manager at Gelli Aur Farm agreed to let the pupils have the use of 10 of his finest cows, which can be spotted by passing motorists.

Made from animal-friendly, recycled materials, the jacket even has adjustable velcro straps, "for the fuller figure" bovine said Mr Williams.

The idea has caused quite a stir in the community, and all 10 companies approached to take up the offer accepted straight away, though many could not help but laugh when told of the marketing opportunity.

It was decided not to approach McDonald's for fear of offending people, but pupils have been approached by other businesses keen to join in.

And while the mind boggles at the potential for jokes there is a serious point to the work being done at Tregib.

"This is such a rural area, we've got to provide the pupils with a real insight into setting up their own business. We haven't got steelworks or car manufacturers, we've got to give them options," said Mr Williams.

The school's Avce (vocational A-Levels) business course is one of the most popular. While some schools struggle to convince people that the vocational courses have equal status with more traditional academic subjects, teachers at Tregib have found that this is not the case.

The success of the school's enterprises should encourage more students to enrol on extra-curricular projects like this, coupled with the fact that many students will come from families where both parents are self employed.

"I know some schools will struggle to get a team of six together for the Young Enterprise competition, but this year we had 55 applicants for the Year 12 scheme, and 84 for the Year 9," said Mr Williams. "We've managed to bring business to life."